You're Not Alone (Anymore)
by NewtsSuitcase
Summary: It's been months since the Infinity War, and some people are still feeling the aftermath. Tony Stark isn't giving up on finding MJ's brother, who has been missing all these months. He finds him at a New Jersey hospital, and is determined to give the Jones siblings a chance at a future. (part 4 in series) / Mary Jane used as character in place of MJ (HoCo)


You're Not Alone (Anymore)

Rating: K+

Summary: It's been months since the Infinity War, and some people are still feeling the aftermath. Tony Stark isn't giving up on finding MJ's brother, who has been missing all these months. He finds him at a New Jersey hospital, and is determined to give the Jones siblings a chance at a future.

* * *

Tony Stark had spent the last two days in his lab, scanning camera feeds and police reports trying to find out what had happened to MJ's brother. He hadn't forgotten his promise to do everything he could to find out what happened to him.

Loosing her parents was bad enough, and even though she had the Parkers to go home to, if her brother was out there, Tony would do whatever he could to reunite them.

When had he started taking in teens from New York? It started simply enough when he recruited Peter, and then Percy had been added on after the older teen had saved Peter's life, and Tony found out more about the mysterious teen. And now MJ.

"Might as well start a club," Tony muttered to himself. "Maybe make some shirts or pins."

His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard, as he started sifting through hospital information, widening his search to neighboring states.

"Tony, you need to eat something," Bruce walked into the room, a plate with a sandwich on it in one hand, the other holding a glass of water. "I get you want to help MJ, but you can't work yourself too hard. Ten minutes, that's all I'm asking. Eat something, drink some water. Then you can go back to looking."

Grumbling, Tony conceded when he realized his throat was sore. He gulped down half of the water, before starting on the sandwich.

"Any leads, yet?" Bruce asked as he watched to make sure his friend actually ate.

"Not yet," Tony shook his head. "I'm just now spreading the search to neighboring states. You never know."

"Did you look into any John Does, yet? A lot of people were injured, and it is possible he may have lost his memory, so they don't have his real name in the system."

Tony's eyes lit up. "And this is why we're friends," he stated as he finished up his meal. "I'll look into that right away." He immediately turned back to the computer, fingers flying as he typed, comparing descriptions of anonymous patients with what he knew MJ's brother to look like. Peter had gotten his hands on a photo of the Jones family, and had given it to Tony for reference.

There were three descriptions of males around the right age, so the billionaire decided to research them more, not noticing when Bruce cleared the dishes, before walking out of the lab, instructing FRIDAY to make Tony take a break if he was still working in an hour.

Forty minutes later, Tony stopped, eyes widening. "I think that's him," he muttered to himself, checking over the information.

The John Doe in question remembered being from New York; Queens to be exact. He remembered he had a younger sister, and that his mother was a police woman, father a fire fighter.

There was a note at the bottom of his chart dated three days ago, saying that his full memory had returned, though his name and other general information hadn't been added to the file yet.

It been many months since the Infinity War had ended, but the city and its residents were still recovering. Those with more severe injuries were just now leaving the hospitals to return to the lives they had led before, though nothing would ever be the same again.

Noting what hospital the John Doe was at (how he got to New Jersey, Tony wasn't sure), he instructed FRIDAY to power up a suit. After informing Bruce and Clint, the two others currently in the tower, of what he was doing, he took off.

In the Iron-Man suit, it didn't take too long to reach the hospital, and he landed on the roof, FRIDAY contacting the hospital staff to inform them what was going on. As Tony headed inside the building, a nurse greeted him.

"Mr. Stark! I hear you're here to see our John Doe?"

Tony nodded, slipping his sunglasses onto his face. He had an appearance to keep up, after all. "Yes. I believe I know who he is. If he's who I think he is, I know what happened to the rest of his family. My, uh, intern, goes to school and is friends with his younger sister."

As the nurse led him to the elevator, pressing the button for the fourth floor, she responded. "That's wonderful to hear. Once he regained his memory, we attempted to call his family, but got no response. We didn't want to let him go until we knew he had somewhere to go."

"Now, can you tell me more about his condition when he arrived?" Tony asked.

The nurse, Stephanie if her name tag was correct, nodded as they walked down the hallway. "He arrived unconscious, and remained in a coma for two months. He suffered from severe head trauma, so we were surprised that he had any memory when he woke up, let alone it all being recovered. He had scrapes and burns, which we assume he received trying to help others to safety. He had broken bones as well, though, fortunately, those weren't too bad."

"Do you know how he got to New Jersey when he's from New York?"

She shrugged as they stopped in front of room 416. "We assume he was evacuating people near the border when he was injured. A woman spotted him at the edge of the road as she was driving to stay with her family, and with the help of her son, was able to get him in her car, and she dropped him off here. She wanted to stay with him, but had to leave after a few hours. We have her information, if you would like to contact her."

Stephanie knocked on the door, before walking in, smiling at the young man on the hospital bed. He was in a hospital gown, and had some bruising and swelling on his arms and forehead, as well as being hooked up to an IV, but otherwise looked like he had healed pretty nicely. "Mr. Jones? You have a visitor."

The young man looked up, a look of confusion and shock flitting across his face. "Tony Stark?"

Tony nodded, walking into the room to sit down on a chair near the bed. "Are you Dylan Jones? Son of Lydia and Christopher Jones, brother to Michelle?"

The young man, Dylan, nodded. "How do you know my family?"

"Your sister is friends with my intern. They go to school together," as Tony responded, he gestured at Stephanie, who understood, and took her leave, closing the door behind her. "She's okay, by the way. She wasn't hurt during the war. She's been staying with my intern and his aunt the past couple months."

Dylan looked relieved, but sat up. "What about our parents?"

Tony frowned, trying to figure out the best way to break the news. He had become more sympathetic to other's plights after Peter entered his life, and he tried to have more tact when talking about serious topics when with people who wouldn't understand what Tony actually meant. "They saved many people."

"They didn't make it, did they?" Dylan understood what Tony couldn't bring himself to say.

Tony shook his head. "No, they didn't. I'm sorry I have to break it to you. I wish I could say they were okay, and that they were waiting for you. But your sister is. I've been helping her look for you. She never gave up hope, even though she rarely talked about it."

"That sounds like Michelle," Dylan murmured. "Thank you, Mr. Stark. You didn't have to help her."

Tony shrugged. "My intern stays over at the compound often after working in the lab and whatnot, so I've gotten to know him pretty well. And as your sister is one of his closest friends, it only seemed right to help out when I have the technology."

"Is your intern Peter Parker?"

"Yeah. You know about him?"

"Michelle's mentioned him before. Do you know Ned?"

"That I do," Tony nodded at the mention of Peter's best friend and his "man in the chair." He was glad that Peter had a friend like him. "Ned is alright as well, and he and his parents moved out of the Parker's apartment about a month ago, after their building was rebuilt."

"Remind me to thank the Parkers," Dylan commented. "I'm thankful they've been looking out for Michelle."

Tony hesitated, before speaking. "As Michelle is legally an orphan, and still a minor, they wanted to put her into the system. But May Parker fought this decision, and though it isn't adoption by any means, she is now, legally, Michelle's guardian. May didn't want Michelle to be separated from her friends, or have to transfer schools, wanted her to have some place to come back to. We didn't know what had happened to you, so it seemed like the best option. However, May stated very early on if we found you, she would want you and your sister to live together. She cares about Michelle, but knows how important family is."

"I definitely have to thank her," Dylan responded, looking awed. "Michelle is lucky to have such great people in her life."

"That she is. But I think it's time she knows you're okay, that you come back to New York."

"I'm not healed yet," Dylan shook his head. "And I have no where to stay."

"Let me worry about that. I have my own doctors at the compound, and have plenty of space. You can stay as long as it takes to fully heal, and Michelle can stay over whenever she wants. She even has her own room at the compound now. We'll figure out what to do next later."

"Mr. Stark, I can't—"

"I'm doing this because I want to," Tony interrupted. "Now, do we have a deal?"

* * *

Bruce bustled around the infirmary, getting things ready for their guest that would be arriving later that day.

He made Clint make the bed as he brought in an IV, as well as other things he might need.

Two hours later, a helicopter landed on the helipad, Iron Man right behind it.

Bruce stood there, hands stuffed in his lab coat pockets as a hospital bed was removed from the helicopter, a young man that looked to be about twenty one or so laying there, looking around.

Once the young man, who Bruce now knew as Dylan, was settled in, the hospital staff left, thanking Tony for helping out.

Tony just waved them off, before heading out to the hallway, dialing a phone number.

Bruce was left in the room with Dylan, Clint somewhere nearby, hopefully not crawling around in the vents or planning a prank. He checked over Dylan, taking notes on his condition, looking at the chart from when he had first arrived at the New Jersey hospital.

Satisfied that the state hospital had been caring for the young man correctly, Bruce left to give Dylan a chance to acclimate to his new surroundings. As he left the room, he caught the end of Tony's conversation.

"Alright, we'll see you soon. They'll let you up no problem if Peter's with you. Yeah, sounds good."

After Tony hung up, he spotted his friend. "I called May, told her we found Dylan. She's going to bring Peter and Michelle over soon. Security knows Peter well, and with his id badge, there won't be any problems. They'll all be staying over tonight, though the Parkers are going to let Michelle have some time alone with her brother and check in on him tomorrow."

Bruce nodded. "Do you want me to get started on dinner? Or are we ordering out?"

"I say we celebrate."

"I'll go order us some food, then."

Tony smiled, thanking his friend, before he headed to the common area to wait for the Parkers to arrive with Michelle.

* * *

 _"Mr. Parker, Ms. Jones, and Ms. Parker are approaching,"_ FRIDAY's voice echoed through the quiet room.

"Have the Parkers dropped off here, and bring Michelle to the infirmary," Tony requested. He didn't want to keep the siblings away from each other anymore, so he had Bruce bring some of the food down for them to share as they caught up.

The elevator dinged, and the Parkers. stepped out. May was smiling, and Peter was bouncing up and down.

"Mr. Stark!" the teenager called out. "I heard you found Dylan!"

"That I did, Pete. And I'm having him stay here until he's fully recovered."

"That's really nice of you!" Peter beamed. "Even though Dylan isn't my family and I barely know him, MJ is my friend. So thank you for helping her."

"Whatever, kid," Tony rolled his eyes fondly. "Let's eat."

* * *

MJ walked down the hallway, hands stuffed in the pockets of her oversized sweatshirt, shoes dragging along the floor.

She took in a deep breath, before pushing open the door she had been instructed to go to. Her eyes widened as she spotted her brother, injured, but _awake and alive_ watching tv as he snacked on a piece of pizza.

"Dylan?"

He turned as he heard his name, eyes widening to match hers. "Michelle?"

MJ rushed towards him, hugging him tightly.

Dylan was surprised, but smiled as he hugged her back, relieved to see that she was okay.

MJ didn't let go for awhile, happy that her brother was safe. She knew most people saw her as someone who didn't show many emotions, and she was okay with that. However, the past few months had taken their toll on her. She was thankful for the Parkers and Mr. Stark, but she was still recovering from her parents' deaths. The thought of loosing her brother, too, had been too awful to think about. She had always been close to him, going to him when she needed help with something. He may have been gone for months, but he was back now, and they had a lot to talk about.

After letting go, she pulled up a chair, dragging it as close to the bed as possible. She didn't blink when Dylan took her hand, before handing her a plate of food.

They settled in for the night, the tv muted in the background. They talked long into the night, both falling asleep only when they exhausted their conversation.

When Bruce came down to check on them, he smiled. Walking quietly, he placed a blanket over Michelle, turning off the tv as he slipped out of the room.

It was nice to know the siblings were together again.

* * *

MJ continued to stay with the Parkers during the week in order to continue going to school. After decathlon practices, she'd often go over to the compound to spend time with her brother, doing homework on the way there. And on weekends, she'd stay overnight. She would do her homework Saturday morning, before spending time with her brother, whether they watched movies, played games, or she helped him get used to being on his feet again.

He had been bed-ridden for months, so he was a little wobbly on his feet. But he and MJ were determined, and in almost no time, he was walking without issue.

It took two more weeks after he arrived at the compound for Dylan to be cleared by Dr. Banner. On the day he was cleared, Dylan pulled Mr. Stark aside.

"I wanted to thank you, Mr. Stark. You didn't have to help out me and Michelle, but you did. You gave her a room here, and let me recover in your infirmary. It means a lot to me to know that not only did Michelle have the Parkers and Ned on her side, but that you were there, too, never giving up on finding me."

Tony smiled, genuinely. Even though he was getting better at it, he still didn't speak his thoughts and feelings very often, but it seemed only right at this moment. "Michelle is a great kid, and Pepper thinks so, too. She keeps us on our toes around here, and opens our eyes to a lot of injustice going on in the world. She's taught us a lot, and there was no way I wouldn't help out. Anyways, it was Bruce who helped you finish recover. You should go thank him."

"I will," Dylan nodded. He headed down the hall to where they could hear Bruce talking with Clint. Before entering the room the doctor was in, he looked over his shoulder at the billionaire. "Thank you."

* * *

Tony was surprised when he walked into the kitchen. He thought that MJ and Peter were off doing something together, maybe watching a movie, or trying to prank Clint.

But there was MJ, leaning against the counter in the kitchen, arms crossed in front of her chest, Peter no where to be seen.

Cautiously approaching, Tony asked a question. "Where's Peter? Are you two trying to pull something on me?"

MJ huffed, rolling her eyes. "Not this time, Stark. Peter's in his room."

"Then what—"

The billionaire paused as the teen held up her hand.

"I have something to say, and I'm only going to say it once."

Tony nodded, before pretending to zip his lips, throwing away the imaginary key.

"I wanted to thank you. Though I know it only started because of Peter and Spider-man, don't deny it, look how it turned out. You helped find my brother, the only family I have left. You let him stay here to recover, and gave me my own room at the compound. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of you a few years ago. But when you stopped constructing weapons, and after I saw how much Peter respected you and found out what you did for him, I decided to give you a chance. You still aren't my favorite person, because of all the amazing activists out there trying to change the world, but I have to admit. You're a better person than what the media sees." She reached behind her, grabbing a mug full of black coffee. Handing it to him, she added a final statement. "Okay, good talk."

She walked off, headed towards the hallway her room was in, not looking back.

Tony smiled as he took a sip of coffee. Who would've guessed that Tony Stark, once proclaimed billionaire-playboy-inventor/Iron-Man would have take in not just one, but _three_ teens, looking out for them as if they were his own?

* * *

The next morning, Tony headed towards the common room, where FRIDAY had told him the Jones siblings were hanging out, watching a movie as they ate cereal.

He watched them for a few minutes, leaning against the wall one hand in his pocket, the other holding a mug of coffee. He had never seen MJ so at ease, laughing at something her brother said.

"Sorry to interrupt," he apologized as he made himself known as he set the mug on the nearby table. "But there's something I want to tell you, and no arguing with me about this, okay?"

The siblings shared a glance, before nodding.

"As much as I enjoying have young people around the compound, and as much as the Parkers like having Michelle stay with them, is it wrong to guess that you kind of want your own place?"

He took their expressions as an affirmative. "That's what I thought. So," he reached into his pocket, pulling out two sets of keys. "These are yours. Congratulations, you now have a completely furnished apartment near Midtown."

Tony could tell they wanted to protest, so he raised his hand to cut them off. "I said no arguing. I'm doing this for you. May and I talked. We came to the agreement that I would get you an apartment, and she is going to help you settle in and provide meals. She's also still Michelle's legal guardian, though we added your name," he looked at Dylan, "to the document as well. That way, just in case the worst happens, she still has somewhere to go. Michelle is family to the Parkers, and she's starting to grow on me. We're not going to leave you own your own."

MJ simply raised an eyebrow, but Tony could tell she was grateful, though she would never say it out loud. Her brother though, started stammering, trying to thank the billionaire.

"Whenever you two are ready, I'll have Happy drive you there."

As Tony walked out of the room with his coffee, he could hear the siblings start to whisper to each other, Dylan more obvious about his happiness and shock.

After the so-called Civil War, things had been hard. Tony's team had been split apart, the closest thing he had to a family broken into two distinct factions. For awhile, he really only had Pepper, Rhodes and Happy around on a fairly consistent basis. Then he started reaching out to Peter more, adding him and May to the small circle of people he spent time with. Percy, MJ, and now Dylan had been added to the group of people he looked after, Ned slowly making his way onto the list. Bruce, when he had returned, had stayed at the compound as well.

The Rogue Avengers' return to the compound, pardoned, after the Infinity War, had been a shock to the system, and the new norm he established in their absence. He avoided them the best he could at the start, but now they were to the point they could work together on missions. They were by no means healed, or a completely trusting and honest team, and would never be the same, partly due to those they lost in battle. But they were working on becoming a team again.

Even with the awkwardness of the Avengers, life was pretty good for Tony Stark at the moment. He knew who had his back, and he spent time with those who wanted to be around him.

Taking a sip from his mug, Tony smiled, before getting in the elevator. He had things to do, starting with properly thanking the woman who had brought Dylan Jones to the hospital.

* * *

A/N: I felt like it was time to address what happened to MJ's brother. I couldn't kill him off, not after both her parents had died. (also, there may be more major deaths later on... but not until sometime after part 12, and set 2 years after part one of this series)

Tony Stark definitely cares about these New York teens he seems to be collecting, which is a hint at a future part of this series. Also, I know MJ seems kind of out of character in this story in some parts, but I think it's understandable.

If there's anything you want to see happen in this series, or a prompt you want me to use, feel free to let me know!

~NewtsSuitcase


End file.
